Lenovo has its obligatory line of new ThinkPad X1 at CES 2017. As was the case last year, there are three new devices in the series; each catering to a different style of portable computer.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon has been renewed with a seventh generation Intel Core processor, which unsurprisingly goes all the way up to the Core i7. Hardware profiles remain more or less the same, with options ranging up to 1TB of storage and 16GB RAM. Par for the course when it comes to Lenovo’s line of premium laptops.
What is impressive is that Lenovo has shrunk the the ThinkPad X1 Carbon down by quiet a bit. The designers have managed to shove a 14-inch IPS display into a 13.3-inch form factor. To make things better, battery life has been extended to 15.5 hours. That’s a whole four hours longer than the current ThinkPad X1 Carbon.
The display itself comes in two flavours, one being in WQHD (2560 x 1440p) while the other is in FHD (1920 x 1080p). Graphics are powered by an Intel HD Graphics 620 chip.
The new 2017 version of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon also fully adopts Intel’s Thunderbolt 3 technology and sports a pair of ports for the connection standard. This is complemented by two USB 3.0 ports, a HDMI port, a native RJ45 port, and a microSD card reader.
Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Tablet shares a similar hardware profile with the X1 Carbon. The processor, RAM, and storage top out at the same points; although the X1 Tablet has an Intel HD Graphics 615 chip instead. It also retains the pico projector built into the bottom of the tablet.
Naturally, the X1 Tablet is substantially smaller than the X1 Carbon; being fitted with a 12-inch IPS display. The resolution is a respectable 2150 x 1440, with no option for a lower resolution panel. It also lacks the Thunderbolt 3 support of the other two ThinkPad X1’s announced. Sporting a USB Type-C PD port, USB 3.0 port, Mini-DisplayPort, and microSD card reader.
The X1 Tablet’s smaller size also translates into a substantially smaller battery. With Lenovo only expecting up to 10 hours or so of battery life. This can be extended by five hours using the Productivity module.
Finally, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga turns up with a wider variety of options than its cousins. For starters, the 14-inch display is available in three different options a WQHD IPS panel, WQHD OLED panel, and a FHD IPS panel. Both the OLED and FHD displays are slightly less bright than the WQHD IPS display for some reason.
Memory options also differ slightly, mostly due to the availability of Intel Iris Plus Graphis 640. Choosing this offers the option for higher clockspeed RAM (2133MHz) over the regular versions (1866MHz). The lower clockspeed RAM is instead paired with the less powerful Intel HD Graphics 620 GPU.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon will be available from February 2017 starting at $1,349 (about RM6000) in either black or silver. ThinkPad X1 Tablet will be available from March 2017, starting at $949 (about RM4260) with no new colour options; while the ThinkPad X1 Yoga will be available from February 2017, starting at $1,499 (about RM6700) in either black or silver.
